Wings of Genesis Old
by TheLostSaga
Summary: A fictional storyline taking place in Future Colony FC . With the Solar Energy Towers built, humans still as violent as ever, and the establishment of the PLANT Colonies mankind still has a ways to go until they venture further into the depths of space.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Gundam, Armored Core, or Zone of the Enders content related. However I do own my own fictional characters which I created as a part of the story.**

AN: Crossover includes Gundam Wing, SEED, and 00 in combination with Armored Core and Zone of the Enders plot elements, characters, or concept.

**Prologue: The New World**

_2159 Old Calendar, during this time the first Solar Energy Tower were constructed. Following shortly after a colonization project of Mars and later Jupiter was launched sending the first pioneers out into space. All was forgotten when the first Solar Energy War occurred over ownership of the first tower. No one knows who fired the first shot, which military was attacked first, but the world knew they needed control of that one tower. In the end the Americans and their Europe and newly formed Orb Union allies emerged as victors. Their victory through Orb's use of Mobile Suits._

_2165 Old Calendar, the victors of the war formed the Sphere's Alliance as a second tower finished construction in Europe. Africa joined the Alliance just days of the tower's final days of construction reaping its benefits. In response to this hasty faction the other nations created the Confederate Federation also constructing a Solar Energy Tower of their own. The only country to remain neutral was Australia._

_2199 Old Calendar, construction of the PLANT Colonies in Lagrange Five are completed in this year. They introduce a new type of humans. These genetically altered humans came to be known as Coordinators. Almost immediately the PLANT Colonies separated themselves from their Earthling counterparts naming them as Naturals and creating a government of their own in space._

_0001 Future Colony, marking 2200 OC as the last year before the new calendar a revelation almost takes place as a broken transmission from Mars is received. There was little hope as to anyone surviving as the transmission was incomprehensible. Due to this the discovery was never publicly announced and the program was long forgotten._

_0002 Future Colony, a cold war between the Sphere's Alliance and Confederate Federation breaks out. The global economy plummets as a result of an arms race between the two factions._

_0003 Future Colony, the Sphere's Alliance showcases their new Armored Cores. They prove to be heavily armored and capable of carrying a diverse amount of weapons into combat effectively making them the most feared weapons._

_0005 Future Colony, special human engineered Kojima Particles as well as the discovery of certain individuals that can manipulate them are discovered. They become known as a Lynx or Next depending on how they are referred. They best any existing Raven when it comes to piloting Armored Cores. This year also introduced the technology of Nexts but due to the Kojima Particle's polluting effects the entire project is quickly dismissed and forgotten._

_0007 Future Colony, the Confederate Federation decides to use Mobile Suits rolling out their first prototype publicly. The RX-78-2 codenamed Gundam is unveiled performing with much more maneuverability to the Alliance's hunkered down ACs._

0022 Future Colony, present time, looking back on history mankind has come a long way. Their quick advancements in technology provided for comfort, medicine, longevity, and war. In many ways mankind has been the epitome of great prosperity as well as destruction. With the nations of Earth divided their dreams of reaching the stars have been long but diminished through political strife. Unification of the Earth as a whole is mankind's only hope.

**2192 Orbital Lunar Colony**

A child no older than the age of seven opened his eyes for the first time like a newborn infant. At first he thought he was at home waking from a long sleep. When he realized his dark chamber wasn't his bed his senses returned to him. Hunger and exhaustion tore through his body. He began to shiver uncontrollably, his breathing became irregular, but worst of all he couldn't move a muscle. Regardless of everything happening to him he didn't feel frightened at all. With little strength he had left he used to focus his ears on muffled voices outside his prison.

"Last stage of defrosting is complete. He's not in a stable state professor."

"Extract him immediately then."

They were the sounds of a motherly voice and a strict fatherly one. Whatever was happening to his body didn't bother the boy at all. He felt content curled up as he was, shivering and starving. It was as if he had been through this before but this time given a second chance to live through it again. Try as he could though he couldn't seem to remember anything from before he awoke.

"Professor his heart rate, it's spiking," a shuffling of papers followed the female's concern. "At this rate he's not going to make it.

"Get him out of there then!" the strict voice shouted

A blaring metallic click strained the boy's ears. As blinding light poured into the dank chamber he felt a pair of soft hands lift him from beneath his arms. His eyes shut almost automatically from being unable to adjust to the lights. It was as if a door to the new door was opened for him.

He felt an uncomfortable icy chill as he was moved from his chamber to a bed. The sound of rolling wheels and erratic talking filled his ears as more people had entered the room. He didn't try to move or make a sound remaining motionless as his captors took him to a different room.

"Are you sure about this?" the woman staring lifelessly at the empty chamber.

"Temporary setback my dear, only temporary." the old man replied with up most confidence.

**0022 FC, Orbital Lunar Colony, Observation Room**

A lean hand touched the surface of a glass window overlooking Earth. The person covered the Earth with their palm as their reflection stared back at them. He had white hair reaching down to tips of his eyelids, dark brown eyes, and a fair complexion showing traits of a human being in this future. Yet underneath his appearance he knew he was something more, something that shouldn't exist.

As he stared off into the distant stars of space he noticed two familiar figures in the window's reflection, an elder man in a wheelchair and a younger woman who seemed to be his caretaker. He sighed realizing the time had come.

"Having fun?" asked the elder man in the wheelchair.

"Not in the least," he replied emotionless, "what did you have to talk about?"

"The future, the past, the present. You may look young on the outside but in reality you're even older then I am. No matter what though you are still what you look like."

"We've already been through this lecture."

He turned around to face his mentor and the woman from that time standing behind his wheelchair. She was at the perfection of her beauty. Regardless she was too old for him or rather too young if he wanted to calculate in the years of his cryogenic sleep.

"Inside this folder contains all the documents you'll need," the old man said holding up a black folder, "I don't have much time left no matter how much I wanted to see this through."

"This so called 'plan,'" Riku paused for a moment before continuing, "is supposed to be spear headed by me? What about Miss Noriega? She's more then capable of carrying this heavy burden out with the help of Veda."

"You know as well as I do Veda is just a very complex AI construct," the old man snapped, "Veda can be tampered with. It's not as secure as you think. The Innovedo are not as trustworthy as they may seem and the colonies on Mars and Jupiter have been quiet ever since their colonization, Earth has heard nothing of them."

"I'm well aware of all this. What difference does this make to you or me? Earth has never been a home to either of us."

With that he turned to face the glass window again only to find it facing the dark side of the moon.

"I understand your anger. The PLANT Colonies abandoned you, Earth abandoned you, as for the colonies of Mars and Jupiter you've never been there. You're the only one who has the ability to do this."

"What of the Mars and Jupiter colonies? They can destroy the Earth and PLANT for all I care."

"Whether it was a choice or not, Riku Hikari, you're the one that will be carrying this on your shoulders and your shoulders only. You're the only one that can do this."

After a moment of silence Riku replied, "Fine, I'll do it. This will repay the debt thirty years ago. Only on the condition I work alone."

"Fair enough."

Sumeragi Noriega, who remained quiet the entire conversation, opened her mouth to say something but her thoughts escaped her. A feeling of doubt clouded her senses as she could only wonder why the old doctor chose him over Celestial Being. Without saying a word she wheeled the old man out of the observation room shutting the door behind her.

Riku sighed continuing to stare at the moon. Thoughts of what was to come loomed over him.


	2. Chapter 1: The New World

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Gundam, Armored Core, or Zone of the Enders content related. However I do own my own fictional characters which I created as a part of the story.**

AN: This story primarily follows a fictional storyline with OCs. There are characters from said series but they are mainly support or may be a role similar to that of the protagonists. Sorry to those that expected to see 'pairings' as there will be, obviously, but won't start with.**  
**

**Chapter 1: The New World**

**Confederate Federation Territory**

Firecrackers burst in the clear skies as the sun hung overhead. Its rays beat down on hundreds of spectators bearing the heat to proudly watch their soldiers march out in front of them. Already having passed their recruit training their special occasion today was being the first class of the Mobile Suit Academy to finish their classroom portion.

Each recruit wore green military uniforms given a select few which stood off to the side in red ones. Among these recruits stood several distinct individuals one such as Athrun Zala, son of Patrick Zala. A representative from the military stood out in front of a podium and gave a speech none of the recruits bothered paying attention to. On the other hand the spectators listened to the useless propaganda the spokesman spouted.

After the speech several names were called. Among those were Shinn Asuka, Lunamaria Hawke, Mizuki Harbringer, and Chris Nubringer.

"Please give a round of applause in congratulations for these new recruits being hand selected to test the new Mobile Suits," their spokesman added. A thunderous sound of hundreds clapping filled the air as the four took a step out of their formation of recruits.

"Finally it's over with," a recruit in a red uniform said. He and another soldier in a red uniform stood away from a massive crowd of people gathered at where they emerged from.

"Did you see Sakura at all?" another recruit in red asked him.

"No. I bet her father didn't ev-"

"My father didn't even what Mizuki?" feminine voice said from behind him.

Mizuki froze to the sound of her voice; a chill quickly crawled up his spine. He held a strange stance as he turned to confront her. Her piercing amber eyes glared at him intently as he stuttered over his words.

"Hey Chris help me out here buddy," he whispered to the other recruit.

"Sakura!" the other recruit, Chris, shouted seemingly to completely ignore Mizuki.

"Cyrstal!" Sakura also shouted in the same expression.

Chris's face quickly upturned as the two of them embraced each other in their usual 'long-time-no-see' hugs. He tightened his grip over her hiding an angered and dark expression on his face.

"I told you not to call me that anymore," he said squeezing Sakura's small body.

Sakura let out a yelp as Chris lifted her up off her feet. "Sorry! Sorry! Put me down! Put me down!" she cried while flailing her arms about.

"Ahem,' Mizuki coughed slightly as he stood between the two, "you guys are causing quite the scene."

Chris and Sakura stopped struggling with each other and stared at the crowd returning the favor. Mizuki held his pose as a gust of wind blew from the silence then dragged the two away.

"When was the last time we spent time together like this?" Sakura asked as they walked down a long pathway lined with blooming Cherry Blossom Trees.

"Cherry Blossoms," Mizuki whispered. He held his hand open to catch a petal. When he caught one he clutched it in his hand letting his mind wander among the trees.

"Mizuki is spacing out again," Chris pointed out. He and Sakura looked to each other thinking of the same plan, one they practiced regularly when Mizuki would space out as he just did.

A spaced out Mizuki continued to walk down the pathway still thinking he was with his two friends. He tripped over a small trash bin placed ahead of him landing on his face. His face burning in the concrete, he could hear Chris and Sakura laughing like a pair of hyenas. His short brown hair was littered with white particles and his face had cat whiskers drawn on with black ink.

"Still spacing out I see," Sakura said trying to hold in her laughter.

"I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. We did graduate with top honors," Chris added.

"That's no excuse soldier boys." A bright smile appeared on Sakura's face as a strong wind blew carrying stray cherry blossom petals along with it. She ignored Mizuki who was still on the ground rubbing his reddened forehead and zipped by past him. "Today's your only day right? Let's have some fun! Catch me if you can!"

Chris and Mizuki exchanged glances before taking off after her. Sakura took off running as soon as she saw the two chasing her. The moment reminded Mizuki of their childhood days when they had no worries. During that time the Solar Energy War had already been long since dealt with. They spent those days without a single care in the world. He could only laugh at himself for reminiscing at a time like this as he ran alongside Chris.

Mizuki awoke to a darkened room. Moonlight peaked through cracks of a window shade onto his face and into his eyes. Memories of the day's events quickly came back to him when he realized where he was. He was in their hotel room they had decided to rent for the night due to the fact of their houses being so far away from the docks. He and Chris needed to report there in the morning for their new assignment. A headache came over Mizuki as he remained motionless on one of the beds. He lifted his arm to check his watch, three o' clock in the morning with the seconds continuing to tick away. He felt his body ache all over from trying to keep up with Chris and Sakura earlier in the day. He sat up to find Sakura was sleeping in the other bed whereas Chris slept in one of the chairs. He took his comforter off the bed and wrapped it around Chris before creeping out the door to slip outside.

When he cleared the door he closed it just as slowly as he opened it leaving it slightly open in case it auto locked leaving him outside. He reached into his pocket and slipped out a pack of cigarettes taking one out and inserting it between his lips. As he reached for his lighter in the other pocket he heard the door click from behind him.

"You still smoke?" Sakura asked from behind him.

Mizuki walked up to the balcony railing and leaned over it not facing her. He took out his cigarette with his index and middle finger holding it over the dark parking lot below. "Yeah," he replied solemnly.

"I thought Chris said you stopped when you guys were in training."

"Because we had to."

"So why start again?"

By the time he noticed Sakura was already by his side. She had her comforter wrapped around her exposing only her head and one of her small hands to hold it together. She was still shorter than him. Her long black hair matched the darkness no matter how much the moonlight shined down on it. In the light it had a sort of a glisten to it. Upon noticing this he quickly turned his attention back to his unlit cigarette debating whether or not to light it in front of her.

"You can go ahead if you need it," she said softly in approval.

Hesitantly Mizuki stuck the cigarette back in his mouth and lit it. He took a quick puff making sure to blow the smoke out and away from Sakura. "One whole year out there," he said staring at the parking lot below.

"You two will be fine. When you guys get back we have to get together again."

"Won't you be busy with school by then?"

"University shouldn't be that hard. Since when was the last time you were worried about me anyway?"

Mizuki didn't say anything to her statement, taking another puff from his cigarette. The last image to run through his mind was when it was only him and her, a while before Chris was ever with them. He remembered he always looked out for her when they were much younger. Protecting her from bullies because of her strange habits, giving her the last piece of candy they shared, and all the other small things a normal person would take for granted. Out of all those memories though one memory he preferred not to remember returned to him. And for a split second he felt as though he could vividly see the faces of his parents.

"Sorry," she said.

"It's alright."

"Do you think there's going to be a war?" she asked catching Mizuki off guard.

He thought about it for a moment taking another puff from his cigarette before he replied, "I'm not paid enough to think that high."

"So, General Harbringer what is your view on the future with new weapons being released nearly every year?" Sakura said, holding her free hand out in front of Mizuki as if she were holding a microphone.

"Well, to be honest if a war does start then I don't see what those Alliance ACs have over our Mobile Suit's mobility. Sure they may be 'armored' but our 'mobility' will be able to defeat them. How can they fight if they can't move?"

"It says here that if this new model goes into mass production then we'll be able to outnumber the Alliance two to one. What are your views on this?"

"If I told you I'd have to kill you."

Sakura laughed trying to keep her voice down. In turn Mizuki laughed along with her. They continued with talking about Chris and Mizuki's time in training among others topics of interest for the rest of the night until sunrise. When time came for their leave Sakura saw them off at the docks the next morning regardless of how tired she was. She stood at the edge of the docks watching the battle cruiser and its two escort ships vanish along the horizon.

"Are you sure you didn't want to say anything?" Mizuki asked. He and Chris leaned against a safety railing at the rear of the ship watching the docks disappear.

"What's there to say?"

With that the two entered the inner cabins making their way to the hanger. When they arrived Mizuki awed at a spectacle of what seemed to be a first in a lifetime for him. The GAT-01A1 Dagger successor to the inefficient mass produced GAT-01 Strike Dagger. The old Strike Dagger was unable to wield the original's 'Strike Packages' so improvements were made without the new technology incorporated into the prototype weapons. Regardless of that technology even the best pilots were shown to have done incredible things even with these mass produced versions. Unlike the Strike Dagger the Dagger was designed a little more flamboyant with a brighter blue color scheme, it's head resembled the prototype's given a few minor details, and two beam sabers were positioned horizontally at the waists. Currently the weapon scheme available for the Dagger consisted of a 52mm machine gun, its two beam sabers, and an Aile Striker Pack. Each Dagger held a rifle and its two beam sabers but the Aile Striker Packs were stored high above on the ceiling of the hanger. Only five were present, one for each of the Daggers.

"Don't stare too long. We still have to get some sleep for a busy day tomorrow," Chris said, noticing Mizuki space out again.

* * *

**Somewhere over the Pacific**

"Today the Orb Union renounced their part in the Sphere's Alliance deciding to take a neutral stance in the rising Cold War. President Johnson of the Alliance sends his regards to Orb Union's Uzumi Nara Athha and wished him the best of luck in the future. In other news currently relations between the Sphere's Alliance and Confed-"

A lone individual turned off an old fashioned flat screen television with a click of with his remote relishing the darkness. He flicked it aside as his cell phone in front of him began to vibrate illuminating a small portion of the room. The digital screen on its front read 'a new job.' He chuckled to himself as he remembered why he chose the caller's ID.

"What is it Nicki?" he said sternly.

"Veda has another job for you. It's an easy one, you might like it."

"Just send the info to Archer."

He shut the phone before hearing her reply and let a sigh out before forcing himself up from his couch. Just as he left his dark apartment room filled with nothing he tossed his cell phone where he was laying down and shut the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 2: Mismatch

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Gundam, Armored Core, or Zone of the Enders content related. However I do own my own fictional characters which I created as a part of the story.**

**Chapter 2: Mismatch**

An alarm blared throughout the Yamto's hull. Soldiers, dressed in their uniforms and half dressed alike, scattered through the halls trying to rush to their positions. Chris and Mizuki took their time dressing themselves in their flight suits. Their place of duty whenever the alarm went off was the hanger, and it was just outside their cabin. After all it was only a drill.

"Why do they have to do this so early?" Mizuki complained. His eyes were still half closed as he lay on his bed. Chris on the other hand was up on his feet waiting for the right time to burst out of the room.

"Get up Mizuki. You don't know whether this could really be a drill or not.

"Get me up when you're gonna leave."

With that Mizuki buried his head into his pillow.

A few minutes later…

The sound of a explosion rang through the air immediately waking a sleepy Mizuki about to doze off into dreamland. Although the sound and vibration got him up he was still half dazed trying to grasp onto the situation. Chris ran over to him violently shaking him.

"Get up! This is for real now we have to get to the hanger!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be right there."

Obviously he was still half asleep so Chris decided to drag Mizuki out of bed. He landed on the floor with a thump when another explosion echoed from outside. This time Mizuki was wide awake and alert finally realizing where he was.

"Let me go! I'm up! I'm up!"

"Then let's go!"

Chris darted out of the room to the hanger followed by a sluggish Mizuki.

They ran through their regular routine to enter their respective Mobile Suits. They picked up a side arm from the armory inside the hanger which was especially for the pilots, found their Daggers, climbed their ladders to enter their cockpits, and shut it over them while powering on their interface. Mizuki sat snug in his cockpit adjusting himself every now and then. It didn't really matter to Chris, on the other hand, who was more focused on properly powering up his entire interface. Outside the Dagger another alarm went off, this time for the mechanics. Above each Dagger was a large blue painted Aile Striker Pack created for the original prototype. This particular mission would be its first roll out with the Daggers.

"Dagger pilots will be identified by number from commanding officer to their wing men," an operator said. On their three virtual monitors a box appeared which should have held a video capture of whoever was speaking with them, but in this case it was darkened and said 'voice only.' The operator assigned each of the five pilots a number quickly moving onto the next phase readying them to launch. At the same time an Aile Striker Pack was fixed onto each Dagger.

"Dagger One your clear for launch."

"Captain Merquise, Dagger One, launching."

Mizuki's mind blanked out until he heard his number called. This was the day he had been waiting for, a day he lived for. Upon hearing his number his adrenaline spiked, excitement filled his fingertips, but his mind remained sharp and intense.

"Mizuki Harbringer, Dagger Five, going out!" Finishing his call sign he pushed forward two controls at his side. The thrusters on the Aile pack ignited humming with its increasing power output. Suddenly it launched the Dagger out from the Yamato through hatch doors and into the sky. He could feel the g-forces pinning his body to his seat as the ocean surface quickly became the only thing visible. The Dagger gracefully took flight joining the other four gathered above the battle cruiser.

Almost immediately they came under fire.

Yellow tracer bullets blazed through the sky missing each of them. Mizuki's radar picked up nothing. While he dodged the scattered shots he noticed the wreckage of the two escort ships burnt black and in flames. Nearly an estimated three to four hundred casualties and the war didn't even start yet.

"All units enemy has radar blocking functions. Stay alert the enemy is in range," he heard Captain Merquise say. His portrait quickly vanished as fast as it appeared on his display.

After a few minutes of dodging what seemed to be random shots Mizuki noticed a flash in the distance. Then almost immediately he saw his worst nightmare. For a split second Mizuki made out the entire frame of their enemy. It had talon-like feet, a rifle in one hand, and a larger gun on the back of one of its shoulder armors. There was also what seemed to be an 'eye' that looked straight at him when it blazed by. Within that short second it turned into a blue blur followed by a white flash.

"It's a Next!" Chris shouted.

"Captain Merquise to bridge you are clear to engage. I repeat you are clear to engage!"

Each gun on the Yamato turned to its immediate left and began firing a barrage of artillery.

The targeting computer on the Daggers couldn't keep up with the movements of the Next. Its movements were either too erratic for a clean lock, so the pilots improvised. Whenever the Next entered their line of sight they fired, but were careful not to fire if an ally was behind it. Regardless of their efforts no one, not even the Yamato guns, made contact with the Next.

The Next continued to move like a blur. But this time instead of letting loose a barrage of bullets this time it picked its shots precisely. Its first round of burst fire destroyed one of the Dagger's Aile pack, rifle, and arm. The second time it attacked it destroyed a second Dagger's Aile Pack and rifle as well as shooting out its legs.

"Luna! Shinn!" Mizuki shouted. He cursed while furiously trying to maneuver just like the Next to acquire an aim, but the Dagger's limited maneuverability was not enough.

"Chris, Mizuki, form up so we can focus our fire on it."

"Gotcha."

The three remaining Daggers formed a small wedge dodging the Next's attack as best they could. The Next ignored the Daggers for a brief moment to make a round over the Yamato with its overwhelming speed. At the same time it made a pass over the battle cruiser several explosions followed leaving behind wreckage of a couple guns and damage to a part of the cruiser.

The Daggers fired their rifles to no end. No matter what kind of tactic used the Next simply thwarted it with its speed. Streams of bullets blazed by the Next as it shifted direction each time, as if it could see each shot before it was made. It did make one pass that confused the Dagger pilots. The blue Next made a beeline towards them, evident by a large white flash before their computers picked up a strong energy reading.

A laser blade protruded from a small generator on the Next's left arm. It swung the laser blade with blinding speed forcing them to break their formation.

"Shit!" Captain Merquise shouted. One of the Daggers lost a leg, apparently being captain's.

The relentless assault didn't end there though. Before Mizuki knew it an alarm went off in his cockpit. He looked down at his status screen to find his Aile Pack in the red. His Aile pack had been destroyed as well as his weapon. By the time he senses came back to him he monitor was filled with ocean water staring down into the deep blue.

"Don't worry about them rescue crews will get them," he heard Captain Merquise shout. That's right, it was only Chris and the captain left now. He, Luna, and Shinn were already shot down, but why? Why weren't they killed? Only their equipment had been destroyed, and by the way that Next moved it could have easily killed them.

* * *

"Mizuki!" Chris shouted. He watched in horror as his friend's Dagger plummeted into the ocean. Captain Merquise quickly shouted words of content having no meaning. He then maneuvered his Dagger to face their assailant finding it coming toward him.

He could feel his heart beat, first at a rapid rate then ever so slowly. His eyes widened as he watched the Next quickly close the gap between them. He saw everything happen within the blink of an eye. The laser blade emerging from its generator on the Next, the 'eye' of the Next staring directly at him, and his hands which quickly moved to motion his Dagger for his next move. Inside his mind a brown seed fell. At the same time the Next's arm was making its move for the finishing blow. The seed burst, and the strike was parried by a beam saber. Chris' eyes were empty; his pupils shrunk and his senses were top notch. Following the parry the Dagger moved out of the path of the Next and readied its rifle aiming at its back. Chris squeezed the trigger in succession unleashing a barrage of bullets which met a white spherical shield that formed around the Next.

The Next continued to maneuver as it hadn't been grazed, which it truly was not. Chris' heightened senses noticed the large gun on its shoulder armor fix itself in place. When it made a turn preparing for another pass above the ocean surface it fired a precise shot which made contact destroying Captain Merquise's Dagger's right arm holding its rifle.

Chris stomped down on his pedals causing his thrusters to ignite beyond its performance limit. It fired a shot towards Chris, but Chris nimbly dodged it just barely continuing his blind charge. He fired a fixed barrage of bullets in succession towards the water creating a water screen. Using this distraction he pushed his Dagger's performance even more beyond its limit to close the gap as quick as possible. Once he got into range he swung his beam saber which burned against the ocean surface.

The Next had already taken to the air a split second before and returned fire. Down below the Dagger shifted to its left also returning fire as it cleared itself away from carefully taken shots. A smirk came about the pilot of the Next.

An alarm sounded from within Chris' cockpit, but he ignored it as he pursued the blue Next. He continued to fire precise bursts of shots each making contact with the Next's shield. Whenever it would return fire Chris noticed the Next's rifle's direction and moved accordingly whenever seeing it flash. On his computer, which he paid no mind to, his status screen blinked red even though his Mobile Suit was still intact. The screen read 'overload' in red matching the blinking screen.

Chris slammed down on the pedal squeezing the trigger every now and then sending streams of bullets to the Next's shield. He suddenly felt his Dagger violently shake, a chill crawled up his spine. The Next readied to fire another shot but when Chris saw the flash he knew he couldn't do anything. His Dagger was beyond its limit and most likely the alarm he heard now was connected to a failed Aile Pack he just ruined. His Dagger started to plummet towards the ocean with a smoking Aile Pack. The single shot fired from the Next filled the middle screen with a bright yellow flash just before turning his screen dark.


	4. Chapter 3: Uncertainty

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Gundam, Armored Core, or Zone of the Enders content related. However I do own my own fictional characters which I created as a part of the story.**

**Chapter 3: Uncertainty**

"Has he woke up yet?" the captain asked entering the waiting room where Mizuki was.

"Not yet sir."

The captain couldn't help notice his subordinate's depressing expression. Chris wasn't killed and perhaps his actions saved the rest of them, even if he managed to overheat his Aile Pack mid-fight. What mattered was that he was alive and well; maybe not completely well but alive enough to be sleeping in a bed in the next room. He thought Mizuki to be a true friend if he were to be sitting here for the last several hours ever since they were recovered.

"Sir, if I may," Mizuki started.

"What is it?"

"What happened out there? Why did that Next leave?"

"That's something you four will be briefed on later. If Chris wakes up have the medics inform me."

"Yes sir." Mizuki stood from his seat to salute the captain, receiving one in return. After the captain left Mizuki reclaimed his seat and stared up at the ceiling waiting for his friend to awaken.

* * *

The blue AC gracefully hovered over the deep blue ocean. The sky was painted orange behind it. Kojima Particles flowed from the AC's thrusters carrying it to his hideout just off of Onogoro Island. The pilot's sheltered existence from the world was one he had always yearned for. He relished in his isolation enjoying having complete control of his life even at his young age. His job paid well despite its dangers and he at least had a caretaker at home, somewhat.

"Was the mission a success?" Nicki radioed in.

"Veda will have plenty of data for the next few years on these Federation toys. I don't know why they continued with that series if it was only to perform slightly better than the last."

"You know Jean, about that one Dagger that went berserk-"

"What about it? He overheated his Aile Pack and I missed his cockpit that time."

"So you were trying destroy it."

"I understand how you feel Nicki, but what are the odds of-"

"You may never know!"

Jean knew it didn't matter what he had to say. She lost her brother in the same terrorist incident that took his parents at Orb. Their latest intelligence rumored held her lost brother alive and well, but in the Federation Army. Ever since he took her in and they found that common ground she told him she was looking for him. Figuring she may be using him and his profession to find her lost brother he didn't mind for the fact he needed a new operator anyway. She lived in his hideout but they rarely saw each other. He supplied her with food and a place to live and in return she helped him with maintenance and being his field operator. Other than their first confrontation when he found her their interaction was minimal at best.

"Jean…we have a visitor," he heard Nicki say quietly. It wasn't as if that certain visitor could get to her anyway. His hideout was entirely secure thanks to his odd jobs.

Jean's blue AC circled his hideout before locating the intruder. They were standing in the middle of his runway to his hanger. It was a lone person in a dark red flight suit with the same color helmet to match. The helmet however was tinted dark. Behind them was an outdated black transformable Flag Fighter Mobile Suit that was used back in the Solar Energy Wars, a relic now at best. The Flag took form of its flight mode positioned just ahead of his garage blast door. It was clear this person didn't come here for a fight, or did they?

Jean eased the AC down onto the runway careful trying to not blow the intruder away, although it would have saved him a headache if he had done so. The moment he landed his AC assumed a kneeling position. He opened his cockpit hatch, popping out like a jack in the box; he brandished his sidearm fixing it on the intruder. Almost immediately the intruder raised both hands to the air revealing no weapon.

"How did you find me?" Jean demanded sternly. His left arm was out stiff and straight with his gun sight fixed center mass at the intruder.

"You get straight to the point don't you kid?" It was a male's voice. However their voice was sharp yet deceitful.

"You have to three." Jean demanded once again; this time he held up his free hand revealing a detonator. The flesh of his thumb touched the push-down button. He was ready to press down anytime with no hesitation.

"I see, so that's why he decided to keep you alive."

"One."

"Now only if you weren't so hot tempered."

"Two."

"Alright kid! I came here with a proposal. He even said you might not be able to resist."

"Go on," said Jean slowly lowering his right hand.

"You should already have the data uploaded onto that pretty toy of yours."

Jean could tell his intruder was smiling with evil intent behind that tinted helmet. He thought to himself for a second and raised his right hand once again.

"Take off your mask and state your name."

"I could ask the same to you kid."

"One."

"Treating me like a child now, huh? These pointless demands."

"I could care less who I kill. Two."

Upon hearing "two" the intruder took off his helmet revealing a man with rough facial features most likely in his twenties. His hair was long and dark brown as the same was his facial hair. He had piercing eyes revealing a harsh existence behind it, but the smirk on his face said otherwise. This person enjoyed what he was doing and came here with no intentions of dying. Even if he did there would be no regrets to the life he chose. Jean knew he had to be extra cautious dealing with a person of this caliber.

"Ali Al Saachez, kid. Now it's your turn."

Unknowing what this Ali Al Saachez had up his sleeve Jean did the same. He removed his blue helmet which didn't match his white flight suit. The moment his helmet came up over his head his dark red hair lowered itself in natural spikes. Strands of hair hung over his golden eyes. From his appearance Jean seemed slightly older than he really was, but in reality he was no older than the age of eighteen.

"You really are a kid," Ali said with no change in his tone. "Well my job here is done. The message has been sent, so I'll be on my way." With that he turned his back to Jean and started towards his Flag.

"Not so fast," Jean called out.

"You wouldn't do it, kid. I would know because you're just the same as me. If there's no profit in it why do it, right? That is unless, of course, you enjoy it that much." Ali said stopping in his tracks. After a moment of silence he let out a short burst of laughter and entered his Flag.

The Flag started up, its engine humming louder than usual. Obviously this Flag wasn't an original model. It may have been, no it indefinitely was, heavily modified. Why would a mercenary such as him modify an old model though? Thoughts such as these ran through Jean's mind as he simply let his intruder escape without repercussions. He could only look on as the Flag charged towards him and lifted into the air just before colliding with his AC. The intense heat he felt from its thrusters seemed as though it could have melted his skin. Good thing that his flight suit was heat resistant.

When Jean got back into his AC he powered up his system. Almost immediately Nicki's voice came over the radio as soon as his computer turned on. Hearing her familiar voice somehow calmed his nerves a bit.

"What happened? I was about to activate the defense system if you waited any longer," she said in a whining but panicked manner.

He listened to her ranting as he skimmed through the information displayed on his computer. He was accustomed to receiving messages like these so his eyes picked out specific words such as bounty, target, threat, location, and any kinds of numbers. By the time he finished reading the message Nicki had stopped her rant as well.

"Jean? Did you hear anything I said? Answer if you did!" Her usual nagging voice.

"I heard you Ma- I mean Nicki."

"What was that?"

"I won't be back until late. I need to resupply first so jot this down."

"Oh, okay…"

Jean waited a few seconds before listing off the equipment he was taking from his hanger. He always made sure she carefully took note of what he was taking so he knew what to replace it with later on. It was tedious and annoying to both of them but she understood that Jean needed to take accountability of his supplies lest he ran out at a crucial time. It would be an irreversible mistake and both of their lives always hung on the line. At times like these they had a mutual understanding of tedious tasks like these.

"Is that it?" Nicki asked quietly.

"That should do it."

"Good luck."

Her usual "good luck" sounded different this time. It had more of a lonesome and sorrowful tone to it. He had been doing this with her for quite some time now, but now of all times she sounded worried about him. This wouldn't be the first time he left and it certainly wouldn't be the last either. He would return, leave his AC in the hanger, go back to his darkened room, sleep, and wait to hear of the next job Nicki would have in line for him. No matter how unsettling it was for him to hear her voice he kept faith in his decisions.

"I won't be too far off. I'll be back before sunrise," he said before taking off.

* * *

A flash of light blinded him forcing his eyes to close. He lifted his hand realizing how weak his body was when it shook performing a simple task. Blocking the light with his hand he slowly opened his left eye. From the corner of that eye he could make out Mizuki's figure. It was dark and fuzzy at first but when it cleared up he could see the worried look on his face.

"Look at you. You look like your dog just died," Chris said wearily.

"It was our dog, remember? And it had a piece of chocolate one day."

"Yeah, that dog was pretty stupid."

They both started to laugh recounting their memories of their pet. It quickly died down when one of the medics rushed into the room as if some emergency occurred.

"Ah, good he's awake. I'll contact the captain right away." With that the medic left as soon as they arrived.

"Do you remember what happened out there?" Mizuki asked. He looked to his dumbfounded friend who looked as if he were thinking hard.

"I can't seem to remember a lot."

"Then what _do_ you remember?"

"Well let's see. Luna and Shinn were the first to be shot down then you. After that, well it's foggy and I can't seem to remember what happened after."

"The only other person who seems to remember is the captain as he was never shot down like the rest of us."

"Then I'm sure he'll inform you all as well as me."

The medic abruptly reentered the room to receive an uncomfortable gaze from Chris and Mizuki. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Captain Merquise will see you tomorrow. He said for both of you to get some rest."

"Do you know where this ship is heading now?" Mizuki asked disregarding the medic's words.

"We're headed to Orb."

The medic left the room immediately after giving them their news. Mizuki looked over to Chris noticing his now uncomfortable state. He wanted to throw his question from earlier back at him but the atmosphere of the situation didn't call for it. Hearing the medic say the words of their destination clearly upset him, but it was strange. He figured hearing "Orb" would upset him more than it did Chris.

Without saying a word Mizuki sighed and moved to leave the room. He looked back at Chris who was still in the same position holding the same expression. Words escaped him as he tried to think of the right ones to say, and after a moment he eventually found them. It was a good minute of silence before he tried to say something.

"We should go see them," Mizuki said solemnly.

"Yeah, we should," Chris replied emotionless.

Mizuki left the room heading towards his cabin. He couldn't bare the thought of leaving his best friend sulk like that alone, but he had to get some rest. Knowing Captain Merquise he had to prepare for a long brief and review of their inactions during their first encounter. He figured the captain wouldn't be too hard on them, but he thought again. They weren't children anymore; they weren't teenagers learning from their mistakes. They were soldiers now, testing new weapons in a failed attempt to measure their new machine's capabilities. What they did now and how they dealt with the mistakes would fuel the success of future generations.

When Mizuki entered his and Chris' assigned cabin he looked to a lone mirror set up on the wall between their beds. His face was littered with minor scratches he received when his body was thrown around in his violent crash into the ocean. The same could be said about his body as well. Time healed wounds but it would never turn back to fix them.


	5. Chapter 4: The Light Emerges

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Gundam, Armored Core, or Zone of the Enders content related. However I do own my own fictional characters which I created as a part of the story.**

**Chapter 4: The Light Emerges**

**PLANT Colony, Aprilius One**

A white haired individual entered the large conference room late. His tardiness was quickly overlooked as there were only two other people present who were elderly compared to the young teenager that just arrived. They both exchanged glances bewildered at who their trusted adviser sent in his stead. This young teenager was supposed to advise them on future conflicts, but from the look of it he didn't have much experience much less belonged.

"Patrick, Siegel," the teenager said from the other side of the room. He certainly sounded like a teenager much less looking like one.

"What makes you think you can be so familiar with us?" one of the elder men shouted from across the room. The one who shouted had gray hair slicked back over the top of his head. However the gray hair and rough expression gave off more of his elderly look rather than make him look younger.

"Calm down Patrick. You don't recognize him?" the other elder man, assumed to be Siegel Clyne, said trying to calm his friend down. This man, unlike Patrick, didn't have his hair gray yet. Instead it was a rich blond like those in their youth. He also had a gentle expression unlike his counterpart, but like Patrick his age showed through his elderly look and facial features.

"This child?" Patrick retorted.

Siegel remained as he was, pointing towards the white haired teenager's direction until his friend calmed down. Patrick kept silent as to not stir the situation more than necessary.

"Riku Hikari," said Siegel looking at him. He motioned for him to take a seat across from them at a large long table. Just like an obedient child Riku took one of the many chairs before him. The two elders did the same.

"Now tell us, why are you here today?" Siegel started their conversation hoping it to be nice and short.

"This concerns Patrick Zala, I'm sorry Mr. Clyne." Riku's gaze moved from him to Patrick.

"Me? I haven't done anything wrong."

"If you would excuse us, Mr. Clyne," Riku said politely. Reluctant at first Siegel slowly stood up and left the room making sure to shut the door silently.

"Patrick Zala. I didn't want Siegel Clyne to know of your deceitful actions as it would hinder my goal," Riku said, his tone changing from his polite front earlier.

"Now who are you to talk so high and mighty?" Patrick said making sure to keep his voice low.

"Because of this fact: your son and his team are going to steal the G-Weapons Orb developed at Heliopolis later today. Orb has stated their neutral stance in current relations on Earth, and yet you still pursue your ideals."

"What does any of that information matter? You can't prove anything."

Riku stood up, reached into his coat, and produced a yellow folder making sure Patrick took notice of it. He scanned through several papers thumbing out a few sticking them up from the others. After a moment of searching he took the stack of those he selected and set them in front of Patrick. The first document held a picture of the Orb base in Heliopolis as well as a map blueprint. At the bottom of the page it read "ZAFT Intelligence" in small black print.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"ZAFT intelligence from the National Defense Committee Chairman's personal files. I believe that is you, am I correct?"

"What do you want?" Patrick said in his low but angered voice. His hands were held together in front of his mouth as his crouched over the table.

"You declared in a committee meeting before that all Naturals should be wiped out didn't you? Due to the death of your wife, Lenore Zala."

"What the hell are you doing in my personal life? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I'm simply delivering a message Mr. Zala: you have failed Dr. Anderson's will."

The elder politician gasped finally realizing this teenager's presence today. Dr. Anderson, his old mentor, had entrusted him with an enormous task but to have this child here in front of him to deliver the message could only mean one thing.

"Dr. Anderson has passed away?"

"He is simply in cryogenic sleep, but if he was to be awoken now he would surely die. Tell me, Patrick, why did you stray from the doctor's plan?" Patrick couldn't answer. He didn't even know the answer himself. His anger over the death of his wife filled his heart more than the attempted prosperity Siegel Clyne was working towards. "Your silence says it all," Riku quickly dismissed.

"No…"

"This is also a word of warning: if you try to use your OZ faction as well then that will leave me no choice."

"Just because our military would have more of an advantage?"

"If maintaining a military force is all you're concerned with then I'm afraid I am truly left with no choice."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm just here to tell you that I'm aware of your intentions."

"These empty threats mean nothing, child."

Riku turned about to face the door. He left the documents where they for Patrick. Whatever he chose to do with the evidence he left up to the Coordinator Politician. He checked his watch as if he were to be late for another appointment. Before leaving he gave Patrick his thanks for using his time and left the room as he came in.

"Is everything going according to plan?" a calm yet sinister voice said from behind Riku.

"It's about time for 'their' debut. First go retrieve the lost child and place her in Onogoro Island. Send the confirmation message to Ms. Wang then after that, rendezvous with Alejandro and continue to observe as usual."

"Roger," the voice said. Riku looked over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of his observer with green hair. He wore an unusual white uniform which would stick out like a sour thumb in a crowd, but his fashion sense wasn't what bothered him.

"Innovedo," Riku whispered. With that he remembered a word of warning his late mentor left him. They were Veda's creations from its endless thirst for knowledge of the human heart and mind. But he knew machines could never understand what they were capable of.

The day before, he had a chance to see the one successful seed of a forgotten project. Despite the reports he read about him from his mentor's documents he was very kind, shy, and young. He was just as old as Patrick's son, and the scene he observed between him and Patrick's son made him think otherwise. Maybe those two children knew each other? That could pose to be a problem. He already had his hands full already wondering how to deal with two individuals that were already on Earth.

**Later that day, Heliopolis: Orb Base Hanger 5**

An explosion rattled the interior wall of the colony. Suddenly, Chains of explosions on the surface disrupted a military convoy already well on its way to the docks. Riku looked on from afar. He had a large vertical bag on his back as he made his way towards the Orb Base where gunfire could be heard all around. He infiltrated the base unnoticed due to the intrusion at one of the gates making his way to a specific hanger. Once inside he found a dark secluded area to set his bag down and wait. The hanger held two large rectangular containers with open tops. A couple soldiers nearby halted his curiosity to check them.

After a few minutes the sounds of gunfire reached the hanger. Riku observed the guards shot down one by one falling where they were. In response Riku prepared himself for the one thing he came to do. He opened the bag took out several parts and swiftly assembled them together. After a quick assembly of his sniper rifle he steadied it over a crate, looking through the sight to find his target. Just as he did ZAFT soldiers took up positions near several crates. They took cover from incoming fire almost immediately. To the other side a female soldier and several others defended the containers with their lives.

Once Riku pinpointed his target he took steady aim, closed his eyes, and said a silent prayer. When he reopened them he squeezed the trigger. The sound of gunfire drowned out the suppressed sniper rifle round. One of the ZAFT soldiers fell lifeless before his friend.

"Rusty!" a blue haired soldier shouted. He continued to return fire as Riku set his sights on him.

"Watch out!" Riku heard another voice shout from the other direction. He looked up from his sights to find that certain child again. He pointed out a ZAFT soldier ready to ambush the female soldier, but she reacted in time saving both their lives. Continuous automatic gunfire rang through the air from the remaining ZAFT soldiers. The last Orb soldier fell to gunfire and the blue haired soldier set his sights on the only female there, yet he didn't fire.

An explosion destroyed most of the ceiling collapsing debris around them. Fire spread throughout the hanger. The female soldier took the civilian that saved her to one of the containers and jumped down. The blue haired soldier did the same to the other container and within seconds two Mobile Suits emerged from them. Riku immediately recognized them although they were in their plain gray standard color scheme.

The one the female soldier and the civilian jumped into arose as the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam and the ZAFT soldier manned was the GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam. Two of five prototype weapons ZAFT was aiming for to crush Earth with. Now they only had four, but with OZ they still had more than enough manpower to overpower any strength the Earth military had.

Finished with what he came here to do Riku disassembled his sniper rifle in the burning hanger and fit it back into its bag. He watched the two Gundams take off then slung his bag over his shoulder, walking out the very entrance he came through. Behind him the hanger collapse burying those lost souls in vain.

From a distance Riku watched the Aegis take off as a GINN lowered itself to the surface. The Strike remained motionless. It still hadn't engaged its prototype armor unlike the Aegis, which had already activated it. The Aegis took on a red color scheme mixed with bits of white, black, and yellow in certain areas of the armor and joints. It lifted off shortly after leaving the GINN alone to face the immobile Strike.

"Phase Shift Armor," Riku said as the Strike finally engaged it. Its dull gray armor turned into a white, blue, and red color scheme as it blocked a head on attack from the GINN's sword. He was surprised the new technology even deflected the blunt force of the GINN's sword. Then again this technology was derived from an existing material. The Phase Shift Armor was developed after the discovery of the new material it imitated, Gundanium, a rare metallic metal found on the moons of Venus among others. However powerful the Phase Shift Armor was it could not imitate it forever. It drained the on-board battery tremendously and functionality was limited from five to ten minutes of standard combat.

The Strike finished the fight without destroying the GINN. It retreated after the Strike had begun utilizing its hidden combat knives. The entire ordeal didn't surprise Riku. He knew these Coordinators were still a new generation, never having fought those from Earth. It was true the Coordinators retained the skills many had during the Solar Energy Wars, but that was only be speculation. Nothing was ever like what he read from the books. He had studied Mobile Suit combat to development and theory, apart from other subjects. Everything was as it should be except for the broken will of mankind.


	6. Chapter 5: Calm Before The Storm

**Chapter 5: Calm Before the Storm**

**Heliopolis**

The chaos and mayhem of the theft at Hanger Five vanished like the morning dew. Fires and smoke were extinguished at the Orb base where bodies littered certain areas. ZAFT and Orb soldiers alike finally came together not by diplomatic or peaceful means, but through death. The Orb soldiers were collected first followed by the ZAFT soldiers. Officers and grunts alike took count of the casualties that morning from an ambush by ZAFT. Many young soldiers died yet this was only the beginning.

Riku continued to pick up his feet in one direction. It had been several hours since he left the Orb base and did what he had to do. He could only keep telling himself it was for the plan to continue, but he could still see the blank reaction on that boy's face. His target was young, too young to be on the field of war, but he knew it couldn't be helped. With the way this cold war was going they would only keep getting younger and younger. If he felt any remorse it would be because he had to stamp out one life from the next generation.

When he cleared the park he used for his cover for escape of the Orb base he reached inside his pocket for his cell phone. With a graceful flick of the top it swung open. The screen gave him the time and date but he ignored it, quickly scrolling through his contacts. The moment he found who he was looking for his thumb made a quick jerk towards the talk button and brought the phone to his ear. Almost immediately his contact answered the other end with a sly yet professional tone.

"I've located the lost sheep on Japan mainland," they said.

"Then proceed once your partner returns."

"Don't you want to know how the other two are doing?"

"I'm sure it has already set the other plan in motion, I'm not worried about it," Riku replied just before snapping his cell phone shut.

An explosion shook the air. Riku looked up to find the same GINN from before in flight just before an enormous red beam split it in two. It was an anti-frigate beam used mainly for long ranged bombardment and of course taking out frigate sized space battleships. The powerful beam continued to run its course and stopped when it made contact with the outer wall of the colony. Time froze for a moment as Riku realized where he was. He cursed under his breath and dropped his bag before taking off in full sprint back to the Orb base.

* * *

Jean stood on the other side of a fence to an Orb military base. It was already well beyond nightfall and a new moon helped provide his cover along with the shadows of surrounding trees. He looked out towards the dark ocean making a mental note to himself. Seeing as how this small country was now neutral in world affairs only this place would be the perfect spot to carry out his next mission. He glanced at his watch to find there were only hours left until sunrise. His time was running short but his objective was already complete. He believed himself to be a man of his word, so with a light gust of wind he vanished without a trace from where he once stood.

Just before the yellow sun peeked over the ocean's horizon Jean landed his AC inside his hanger. He kept his word but it took longer than he expected. He shut off the loud generator of his AC and jumped out of the cockpit. It was darker than usual inside his hideout but as usual he kept a hand to the wall making sure he was going in the right direction.

When he entered his room he opened his cell phone to find it a little past six in the morning, in this area anyway. He set his opened cell phone down on a wooden table in front of his couch allowing it to illuminate part of the room. Just as he suspected there she was, Nicki, peacefully sleeping on his couch. She was curled up into a ball desperately trying to keep herself warm in his cold dank room. Her hair was darkened by the unlit room covering her face. He knew it to be a darker brown than regular, which blended easily with the darkness. She had changed into her pajamas though they didn't provide for much comfort as it was just a large shirt and a pair of shorts. He could only laugh to himself as he gathered up a blanket from his closet across the room and laid it on his sleeping operator.

"What a nuisance," Jean said quietly. He took a seat on the end of the couch where Nicki's curled legs didn't touch. The weariness of a day's work finally settled upon him as laid his head back and closed his eyes. Sleep, which had hovered over him since meeting Saachez, quickly came to him in that silent room.

* * *

Mizuki awoke to the rocking of the ship. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, though it wasn't the feeling of sea sickness. It was one of those feelings he always got when a bad day was looming over him, but through past experience he learned to let it go. It's not like anything he did could change the inevitable anyway. He checked his alarm clock to find it a little past seven in the morning, remembering it had a built in system to automatically detect the changes of time zones.

He sat up in his bunk staring blankly at the wall ahead of him. He was lucky the captain had given the four of them time off for recuperation. However Mizuki found himself spending most of it babysitting someone who didn't wake up until the evening. Because of that he was given a little more time, but that would soon come to an end all to quick.

"Wake up sleepy head!"

A solid pillow smashed into the side of Mizuki's face sending him flying to the ground. The impact of the pillow nearly launched him in midair as he face planted the floor.

"What the heck was that about?" Mizuki shouted as he quickly recovered. He bore his sharpened fangs with steam nearly blowing out the side of his ears.

"You overslept," Chris replied already dressed in his uniform for the day. He remembered how much Mizuki hated to be awakened out of his dazed state, but the captain called for them about a half and hour ago.

"That's because I was making sure you were alright the whole friggen day!" Mizuki retorted, his tone sharp as ever.

"Hurry up and get ready. The captain called for us."

"When?"

"Just hurry up." Chris' tone turned serious as he turned away acting as if he were fixing his uniform.

"You don't have to brood over it," Mizuki said, breaking the silence between them.

"I know."

"Don't be such a crybaby Crystal," Mizuki said quickly, looking at Chris from the corner of his eye. There was no retaliation.

"Just hurry up," Chris said as he walked towards the door, "we'll be waiting on you in the captain's office." He shut the door behind him leaving a concerned Mizuki still in a half awakened state of mind.

Mizuki was the last to arrive at the captain's office. The other three stood with their arms behind their backs as they were all taught at the academy. Special cases they were but they still had to follow military customs. He joined them without a word and waited for the captain to start.

"Now that you're all here," the captain started.

"If I may sir," Chris interrupted.

"We'll get to that Lieutenant Nubringer."

"Yes sir."

Captain Merquise continued on about the comparison between their Mobile Suits and the new Armored Core Nexts they were up against. They all knew Nexts couldn't be compared to their regular counterparts. Each Next was outfitted with a special mainframe allowing the pilot to manipulate a generator which produced special particles exclusive to those Nexts. The only known information was that these particles were called Kojima Particles and they had the ability to create shields, be used in weaponry, disrupt electronic equipment, and accelerate the machine beyond modern understanding. But the one in particular which attacked them didn't exhibit any means of killing them, which was what made the captain call the briefing.

"Higher up believes this certain pilot may be out for something. There were similar incidents like these on classified operations in which a Next appeared and disappeared just like it did on us. All cases include the precise accuracy this one displayed."

"Do they think it's related to Orb at all?" Shinn asked.

"Whether it's related to Orb or not all it did was test our machine's capabilities, and as you see we failed to meet expectations."

"So running into it again would mean it'll finish the job," Lunamaria said.

"Which is why we're going to Orb," the captain said. The white helmet covering his eyes kept everyone from questioning him.

"Why Orb?" Shinn snapped.

"I understand you don't have good relations with the country of Orb Lieutenant Asuka, but you're going to have to deal with it for the time being. We need to re-supply and repair our equipment. There's no other place than the neutral country of Orb to do so."

"You're still way too young to be holding grudges against an entire country Shinn," Mizuki added.

"That was unnecessary Mizuki," Chris said in defense.

"I don't need you looking out for me Chris," Shinn said sternly.

"Enough!" the captain shouted, "save your squabbles for when you get ashore. For now rest up until then. We'll be touring their hangers once we arrive. I expect each and every one of you to memorize their new equipment and weapons. We'll have to be prepared for when Orb makes its stance in the war again."

"Do you really expect Orb to take a stance in this war again sir?" Chris asked.

"Personally no, but the world is an unforgiving place and the Athhas can't stand down forever. No matter how much influence Uzumi Nara Athha has the people behind him may think otherwise."

"Peace is only temporary," Chris said quietly.

"Speak up," the captain sharply.

"It was nothing sir."

"We should arrive at the docks at approximately three hours. Rest up until then. Dismissed."

The four saluted the captain before taking their leave.

"Lieutenant Nubringer, you stay."

Chris looked to Mizuki and the others, "I'll catch up," he said nodding to Mizuki. Shinn and Lunamaria exited the room first followed by Mizuki trailing behind. Once the door shut Chris turned his attention back to the captain.

"Now, Lieutenant Nubringer do you know about SEED?" the captain asked.

"Yes, I'm familiar with it."

* * *

Jean opened his weary eyes blinking a couple times to adjust to the sunlight pouring into the room. The curtains to his only window were on the ground. The only perpetrator could be Nicki, and there she was with her head on his lap resting on the blanket he gave her when he arrived. Part of it was balled up on his leg being used like a pillow. His right hand was held comfortably over her body covered by what was left of the blanket.

"Annoying little girl," he snorted to himself. He glanced down at his cell phone still sitting on the wooden table before him. The digital screen read the time to be quarter past seven.

Before he thought of getting up he looked down at Nicki. She was still sleeping as peacefully as he found her earlier this morning. Intrusive and annoying as it was to find her fast asleep on his couch it was a regular thing she did every time he went out for late missions, but he had grown accustomed to it. Being her caretaker as he was he could only chuckle to himself every time he found her.

"It's a shame I don't think of you like that," Jean quietly said to her. He kept his hand where it was and put his head back closing his eyes once again. He found it didn't hurt to get a little more shut eye before he carried out one of the toughest jobs he'd have to take in a while.


	7. Chapter 6: The Coming Hour

**Chapter 6: The Coming Hour**

**Confederate Battlecruiser, Yamato**

"What do you know of SEED?" Captain Merquise asked. The tone of his voice had a hint of concern but still the usual commanding officer professionalism.

"Superior Evolutionary Element Destined-factor, it's a hypothetical theory for Coordinators and Naturals alike. Comparable to when a human finds themselves in danger and their strength, intelligence, reaction, simply everything is pressed beyond its limits giving even the weakest person the ability to perform super human actions."

"Good, you know your basics. It's as expected from the top graduate of the academy as well as the first scouted pilot for Project Gundam."

"Can you tell me what happened? Why I didn't retain all of my memories?"

"What do you remember from before that time Chris?"

Chris remained silent for a moment. He searched through his memory trying to recount any vivid moment.

"Shinn, Luna, and Mizuki were shot down," Chris finally said.

"Did you feel any anger?"

The image of a single bullet planting itself into the Aile pack on Mizuki's Dagger flashed in his mind. An immediate explosion; then the image of Mizuki's Dagger plummet towards the ocean. For a moment he stared at the steel wall looking through Captain Merquise. He came back to his senses when he heard the captain call for him several times over.

"Chris! Chris!

Silence. The captain waited for Chris to regain his senses, but he could see that he was still disturbed, so he started calmly, "you didn't do anything bad, Chris. It was to protect your friends and yourself," He could see it in Chris' eyes that he was still lost in himself, "you fended off the Next as best you could. I'm sure the other three are grateful for what you did."

Chris still remained silent. The events of when he was in SEED were finally coming to him, as if it were projected before his very eyes. Everything form start to finish from when he gave chase to when the entire cockpit was lit yellow like the rising dawn.

"As a future leader you shouldn't let something like this bother you."

"Don't flatter me like that captain," Chris quietly.

"I only speak the truth. Now go get some rest. You'll need it."

"Yes sir," Chris held a firm salute as Captain Merquise saluted him back. Once their customs were completed he turned towards the door ready to leave when Captain Merquise gave him a few parting words. "Be ready for Project Gundam" he heard him say, and with that he shut the door behind him.

"Yo," said a familiar voice once from behind him. The glimpse of Lunamaria's short red hair told him who it was though it wasn't who he was expecting it to be waiting for him.

"Luna? Why are you here?" Chris asked, "I expected Mizuki."

"Well, that's a little harsh don't you think?" she replied almost pouting.

"I'm not trying to tease you or anything."

"Mizuki asked me to wait here for you. He didn't say why but he said to meet at the Rec Room as soon as you got out."

The two made their way towards the Rec Room having idle chat along the way. Occasionally their conversation would die down until Lunamaria brought up a touchy subject for both him and Mizuki.

"Did you two get to see Sakura when you guys were back on the mainland?" Luna asked.

"Nosey aren't we?" Chris replied trying to avoid her question.

"All you two did was talk about her back at the academy. It seems like the two of you think of her more than a friend."

Chris went silent for a moment, staring down at the floor in deep thought to what she said. Lunamaria looked over noticing the disturb expression on Chris' face.

"I'm just thinking out loud," she quickly dismissed waving her hands in front of her, "besides you three have been together since you were all young right? I guess you could also look at it as sort of treating each other like siblings more so than friends."

"I wonder where we would draw the line," Chris said staring straight ahead.

"Here we are!" Lunamaria's voice rose in excitement. She pushed through the swinging doors with Chris close behind her. The room was already bustling with various crewmen on the ship. There were pool tables, television sets, a small bar to side one of the room, and plenty of tables to congregate at. Mizuki and Shinn were already waiting for them at one of the tables, waving them over to join them.

* * *

A large white ship emerged from the crumbling Heliopolis colony with a ZAFT frigate giving chase. Acting ship captain Lieutenant Murrue Ramius thought hard about how to get the crew of the _Archangel_, which was thrust upon her, out of the current situation alive. Riku found himself aboard the vessel as he had no other choice in the last moments of Heliopolis. Despite all the experiments carried out on him he didn't know if his body could survive direct exposure to the emptiness of space, and he didn't want to try. This was the last situation he wanted to find himself in, a stowaway on the _Archangel_.

Luckily one of the two boys he was searching for was aboard the vessel. He found out the boy was the one who put a hole in Heliopolis' outer wall causing it to collapse. It was clear that no matter how these scientist's predictions went they couldn't predict events such as this would happen, but their future plans didn't have anything else further to do with Heliopolis. Perhaps that tiny detail made him wonder if they really were expecting this boy to act like this. If so then did they also predict he would move according to their will?

"The _Archangel_ will be entering combat mode. All hands to their stations," an announcement boomed overhead interrupting his train of thought.

He emerged from behind a crate inside the hanger storing the Strike and an orange Moebius Zero just as the other crewmen stormed inside. He wore an orange engineer suit like the ones onboard wore and blended in with the rush of crewmen as they scattered to ready the Strike and Moebius Zero to launch. Both pilots were called overhead, Kira Yamato and Mu La Flaga.

The two arrived shortly after being called. He assumed Kira to be the younger of the two with the brown hair and blue flight suit. Although he didn't have a clear view of his face he was sure Kira was the one that saved Murrue back in the hanger. As for Mu, the only person left would be the elder of the two making his way to the Moebius Zero. It was an unfamiliar face, but he felt as though an older influence would do great for Kira's survival. From what it looked like the two were a bit familiar with each other given their little time together while he observed their interaction before they departed from one another. They entered their respective units and readied to depart.

After both machines launched and a majority of the other engineers left the hanger area Riku returned to his isolated spot. He rested his back against a wall and closed his eyes. Behind his closed eyelids a virtual console appeared in front of him. It was as if he accessed a virtual computer mentally, the connection was instantaneous. From there he accessed the open communication line the ZAFT pilots and Alliance pilots were using to communicate to each other respectively. There he found the other person mentioned in the "plan," Arthrun Zala, son of Patrick Zala on ZAFT's team in one of the four stolen Mobile Suits from Heliopolis.

* * *

"We're finally here," Mizuki said reaching stretching his arms as he reached towards the sky. The other three pilots were behind him as they trailed behind Captain Merquise to one of the Orb hangers. Everyone but the four of them were given time off to explore the city. In the background several parts were being wheeled into the Yamato, set in front of the docks were it was stored on-board via crane. Ahead of them Captain Merquise was well into a conversation with another Orb officer, apparently the one in charge of their re-supply and safety.

"You seem quite enthusiastic," Luna said from behind.

"That's because we're on solid ground!" Mizuki exclaimed.

"Can't even live three days on a ship can you?" Shinn mumbled.

"He gets homesick easily," Chris added on the side.

"You guys better pay attention. Captain Merquise wants us to be mindful of what we come across," Lunamaria reminded them.

Mizuki looked around the empty hanger with a distraught look upon his face, "well I'm sure there is plenty here for us to see."

Several Orb soldiers eyed the passing entourage of Federation soldiers. Conversations died down when they neared any group of Orb soldiers. Whispers and unkind thoughts were exchanged between Orb soldiers in silent even as the Federation soldiers walked by.

"You know you can't stay here long," said the Orb officer to Captain Merquise.

"I understand. It was agreed upon that we stay here one day to re-supply to continue our training efforts. As you already know we were attacked while at sea and many of our training suits were damaged fending off the enemy," the captain responded in turn.

"I find it hard that those Daggers were able to fend off a Next."

"I hear knowledge in Nexts were your specialty."

"I do have some knowledge about them."

"You shouldn't be so humble, Joshua," Captain Merquise said slyly.

"You know sometimes it's hard to tell the meaning behind a person's intent without being able to see their entire facial reaction, namely the eyes. That is of course in a time of _peace_ there wouldn't have to be a need to hide scars," the Orb officer replied as he trailed ahead of Captain Merquise.

"It makes me wonder if the world was in such a peaceful state then how interesting would coincidences be?"

The two officers came to a stop as they reached the end of the pier they were walking and talking so causally on. Ocean water lightly sprayed their exposed skin as it crashed against the concrete, but the both of them remained looking towards the horizon of ocean. The four pilots came to a halt slightly far away from them wondering what was going on. They couldn't hear any further exchange of words as the sound of crashing waves drowned out the sounds their voices.

Mizuki, who was leading the pack, turned to face his colleagues, "so he drags us out here to look at nothing."

"At least we know Orb isn't capable of fighting on their own," Shinn snorted.

"Think of it guys, why would they risk showing us anything? We're from the Federation after all and they just took their stand off of the cold war that's going on right now," Luna said.

"That would mean they're either hiding something or..." just before Chris could continue a barrage of missiles tore through the clouds. Mizuki quickly reacted to the expressions on their faces and the sound of projectiles surfing through the air tackling the three of them down. Before they hit the ground a deafening series of explosions rang through the air.

Mizuki was the first to recover looking over to where Captain Merquise and the Orb officer were having their conversation. Captain Merquise was still there standing at the same spot looking off in one different direction towards the ocean, but the Orb officer was gone. He shifted his head towards the hangers to find the Orb officer already well underway to where he probably should have been in a situation like this, but the strange thing was he didn't stop to help any of the wounded. He tried to remember any distinguishing features in case he were to be located again but there was nothing he could remember about that Orb officer.

"What the heck was that?" Shinn asked, cursing as he lifted himself up from the ground. By the time Mizuki paid any attention to his friends Chris was already up on his feet helping Lunamaria do the same. He and Shinn were on their knees, Shinn looking in the same direction as the captain and Mizuki now inspecting the damage. His eyes widened at the destruction.

"Why?" Mizuki muttered. He scanned the burning buildings, even though they were mostly empty, for any survivors. Feeling as though he witnessed something similar once before, flashes of images raced through his mind. Burning buildings just like the destroyed hangers, skeletal frames of vehicles just like a few military vehicles Orb had around the hangers, and bodies, though not as much as what he was seeing in his mind, littering the ground. Chris turned around to have the same reaction, looking as if he saw a ghost.

"-uki! Mizuki! Mizuki wake up!" he heard Lunamaria shout. Before he came to he felt as though he were living in the image he remembered. He turned his head slowly to his right, and heard Lunamaria shouting his name while Shinn was trying to gain Chris' attention. Captain Merquise was shouting something incomprehensible, most likely it was to get everyone back to the ship.

"Shinn, Lunamaria! Get Chris and Mizuki back to the ship! Get the Daggers ready for combat!" Captain Merquise shouted.

Shinn slapped Chris hard across the face bringing him back from where ever his mind wandered off to. Chris gave a quick nod and took off with Shinn back to the Yamato in full sprint. Mizuki, still dazed, struggled to his feet to find himself staggering. Lunamaria pulled his arm to get him moving but his feet were tangled along the way. Captain Merquise shouted to get back to the ship once more and started running their way. Lunamaria, having no other choice, wrapped an arm of Mizuki's around her and supported him as they ran towards the Yamato. As they ran fires from several hangers spread through the base. Orb soldiers desperately tried to contain it before another barrage hailed them. Inaudible as some were, screams of pain came from those caught in the explosions. Mizuki could only look at them with a dumbfounded expression as he still had could not fully grasp onto the situation.

Gunfire from a seemingly large sounding rifle rang through the air, an unfamiliar sound to Mizuki. It fired in controlled intervals with each shot ringing slightly quieter. He had never heard the deafening sound of gunshots from a humanoid machine's firearm. It was always subdued behind heavy armor plated walls. When he reached the Yamato with Lunamaria supporting him, and Captain Merquise on their tail. He looked back in the direction the captain was looking earlier to find the same blue AC hovering just above the water. It had a different set weapons this time. There were two large guns appearing to be enlarged versions of Gatling guns and two different sets of rifles on each hand.

Before they entered the safety of their ship a strong gust of wind, possibly the aftermath of a sonic boom, hurled light debris into the hair. As Mizuki was placed on the ground at one of the doors inside the Yamato his eyes caught a glimpse of a red dot, just like the blue AC's, look towards their direction before turning into a white blur.


	8. Chapter 7: Another Awakening

**Chapter 7: Another Awakening**

"Mother! Father!" cried a young boy at a sight of burning cars, buildings, and bodies. A few minutes ago he was dashing out towards a traffic light ready to scare his mother by walking close to the street as he usually did. Mischievous as he was, the boy never intended to do something so thoughtless as to walk out into a busy street. What he enjoyed the most of scaring his mother was the ranting his father received about not disciplining him enough to act accordingly in public.

When he reached the stoplight the boy turned around to find his mother and father quite a ways down the sidewalk. That day there was another boy there as well. He had golden hair, blue eyes, and stood about as tall as he did; a typical westerner, but kept to himself. The foreign boy was waiting to cross the street and didn't look as talkative as he was. The boy tried talking to the foreigner but received no reply, as he expected. Then he heard a scream, a female's voice, most likely his mother's. "Bomb" was the only word he heard before shouts and screams followed. After a powerful gust of wind everything went dark.

The explosion rattled the stop light enough causing it to collapse to the street. The golden haired boy grabbed him and pulled him away from it, slamming him against the front bumper of a parked car. Had the golden haired boy not grabbed him and acted as such both of them would have been blown away by the initial explosion.

The boy staggered to his feet first turning around wondering what happened. His eyes widened at the damage caused by the explosion, then at the golden haired boy.

* * *

"Dagger Three! Mizuki! Look alive! Respond! Mizuki!" it was Lunamaria calling him over the radio. She was chosen to stay behind as there were not enough operating Daggers to use. Captain Merquise, Chris, and he were the ones declared to launch to aid in the defense of Orb. Shinn thought otherwise and opted to stay out of current matters.

"Dagger Three, Mizuki Harbringer, launching!" he pushed forward his side controls.

The last operating Dagger launched from the Yamato with a brand new Aile Strike Pack. It wasn't the original blue color like the ones they came out with, but none of them were complaining. It had a plain gray color scheme being equipment Orb supplied for them. As Mizuki's Dagger took to the air he found Chris and Captain Merquise well on their way towards the battle. It didn't take long for him to catch the other two but even the two minutes it took felt like hours.

"Box off the hostile and keep it towards the mainland. It'll have no where to run if we keep it near Orb's base," said the captain.

"Who is that?" Chris questioned as they neared the battle. Mizuki also wondered who it was as the white blur stopped for a brief moment. It looked as though it had similar designed parts to the blue AC, but it looked different somehow. Maybe it was how thin the arms and legs looked but it looked lighter, possibly a bit more aerodynamic as well. It held two rifles just like the blue AC, but different models. It also didn't support anything on its wide shoulders. From what he could tell the entire Next was colored white for the majority of the machine with black on its joints in in-between the armor.

"It's a Next," Mizuki said, "no doubt about it, it's White Glint."

"Very good observation Lieutenant Harbringer," the captain said almost mocking Mizuki.

"Looks like it's on our side," Chris said.

Off in the distance the two Nexts battled it out against one another. The speed at which they fought was incredible compared to the sluggish performance the Daggers put out. They appeared to be as blurs to the untrained eye. It made Mizuki wonder if their intervention would do more harm than good if they were to help White Glint, but a better question would be why they would find White Glint at Orb of all places. All the intelligence they held on White Glint still labeled the pilot as an active mercenary.

"We should reconsider this decision captain," said a voice from the control room.

"This would put Orb in a bad spot, I understand," Captain Merquise acknowledged, "but it's just wrong to sit by and watch as the same Next that tore us apart, tear Orb apart."

"But sir, if we help Orb their neutral stance won't be taken as such. Having Federation soldiers aid in their affairs? We weren't even supposed to be here in the first place."

"Prepare to tell command that this was a gesture of good will. I will be taking all the responsibility for what happens, end of discussion. Now, surround the hostile and corner it inside the territory of Orb for White Glint."

"Yes sir," Chris and Mizuki acknowledged. The three Dagger's thrusters ignited at the same time each launching slightly in a different direction.

The Nexts exchanged fire rapidly. Many stray bullets made contact with either the water or empty areas of the shattered base rather than on the other machine. Occasionally the blue AC would switch to its gatling guns and send a barrage towards White Glint anytime it would be low enough for them to cause damage to the base. Brutal, would be the tactics describing what the blue AC was using on White Glint. In return White Glint had no other choice but to carefully pick its shots whenever the blue AC and it would change roles. It was almost as if the pilot of the blue AC were taunting him by taking up a position over the base or near the city whenever White Glint had a clear shot, knowing the shot had a high chance of missing.

"Pilot of White Glint, we are here to help you. We'll be forming a barrier with three Daggers cutting the hostile's path of escape," Captain Merquise called to the pilot of White Glint. The three already took up positions carefully outside the Orb base. They split their distance between themselves giving them enough room to freely fire in each others direction if they needed it.

"Those Daggers won't provide much cover for very long," replied the pilot of White Glint.

"We're restricted to short range communication so don't wander off too far," Captain Merquise responded.

"Shit, here it comes!" Mizuki shouted. His Dagger strafed to one side barely avoiding the stream of bullets fired from the gatling guns from the blue AC. Mizuki returned fire only to hit the ocean surface.

The blue AC shifted focus from one Dagger to the next trying to blow pass their line, but each time it was met with resistance no matter how weak it was. With White Glint close on its tail and three Daggers cutting its escape route the pilot found his odds weren't so great now. Somehow the Daggers weren't as easy as before, but it must have been because he also had to focus on White Glint anytime it had a clear shot on him.

After several minutes guns from the shattered port base of Orb began firing upon the blue AC. Many stray shots met with the white shield, but the guns never let up. They continued to bombard the blue AC with explosive shells and regular shots alike.

"It's working," Mizuki said trying not to get overexcited.

"It should be running low on ammo soon," said Chris.

"He'll get desperate, be ready for a full out assault on one of your positions," said the pilot of White Glint.

Soon enough he blue AC began its full assault, dropping both empty rifles. It readied its dual gatling guns and lunged itself in Chris' direction. Captain Merquise and Mizuki both saw the split second decision and launched in Chris' direction, but he knew they wouldn't make it in time nor would White Glint. It was too far even if it used its Overboost. Chris fired away at the blue AC only to meet its shield. He figured the pilot resorted to an all for nothing attack as it absorbed his shots, but he realized he didn't have anything to protect himself once the Next's gatling guns started firing.

His heart began to beat rapidly then slowed to a steady but powerful rhythm. A seed fell in the pit of his mind, taking the same color as his blue eyes. His muscles tightened over the controls of his Dagger. He could feel every nerve in his body sparking with activity to his brain. His skin felt as if it were burning. Suddenly his heartbeat went from a powerful steady rhythm and skyrocketed into a rapid adrenaline filled pace. The seed within him turned from a regular blue seed into a sapphire blue seed just before the explosion.

Chris' Dagger drew its beam saber with its free hand while firing away with its rifle in the other. Bullets constantly shattered against the blue AC's shield scattering Kojima Particles into the air, which slowly began forming around the Dagger. Once the blue AC got within firing range its gatling guns unleashed a lethal wall of bullets that should have tore the Dagger apart, but only met resistance against its own Kojima Particles.

The element of surprise was mutual.

Taking this opportunity, Chris slammed down on his thruster pedals. The Aile Pack on his Dagger screamed as it increased in power output. Charging at full speed the Dagger's beam saber tore through the legs of the blue AC as it lifted itself just in time to avoid a fatal blow. As the two machines brushed pass each other the white Kojima Particles which had gathered around the Dagger glittered and swirled about in the empty space between them, dropping to the ocean as it didn't have anywhere else to settle. Bullets rained down on the blue AC from White Glint and the other two Daggers, tearing through most of the armor.

The blue AC plummeted towards the ocean, just as his friends did before. Chris looked down at the broken half of the blue AC core riddled with bullet holes. It wasn't enough to kill the pilot but it was enough to destroy the Next. Orders came down from Captain Merquise telling him to leave it alone. The urge of pressing down on the trigger was tempting, tempting enough for Chris to want to repay the favor, but he stopped when he heard Mizuki's voice.

"Great job Chris! I've never seen anything like that!" Mizuki shouted. He was overjoyed, as Chris could tell, but somehow he felt there was nothing to celebrate about. Despite the captain's decision to aid Orb in their own territory there would be another controversy over whose prisoner the pilot of the blue AC would be. He knew all this, and he knew Captain Merquise would confront him about it sooner or later.

Mizuki cheered for his best friend's achievement, an achievement he couldn't accomplish himself. Deep inside he feared feeling resentment towards Chris just like when they were children. He didn't know why he felt this hidden resentment, but every time he did he would try to suppress it as best he could. As a child it was easy to forget something small as losing a game, but this weighed heavier on him.

"Chris, what's wrong?" Mizuki asked. Chris could hear Mizuki, but his voice didn't register to him it at first. His mind was elsewhere as his racing heartbeat slowed finally realizing the fight was over. His eyes had taken the color of the light blue sapphire seed which caused his condition. Mizuki looked closer at him from his portrait on his screen, "Chris, did you put in new contacts? And why are your eyes..."

"Sorry Mizuki," Chris said before his portrait turned black and blinked off of Mizuki's screen.

* * *

Jean stared restlessly at his shattered control panel. The screen of his on-board computer was cracked in various places as well as his cockpit windows. The entire cockpit was dark except for the emergency lights he remembered to install a week earlier. What little illumination they provided was enough for him to find his emergency handgun he kept above his seat. Once he took a hold of it he reached to the side of his seat and grabbed a full pistol magazine, pushing it into the empty magazine well of his handgun. He figured he never needed it until now.

With little to no strength left after the beating his body received at the hand of his defeat he knew his AC was on the surface of the ocean. How it was positioned was beyond him. He also contemplated whether or not to get out because surely he was going to be a prisoner of war, but for how long? Mercenaries don't particularly make for good prisoners of war. Especially with little to no information he held about his client.

It was strange to him that he wasn't feeling bad about his defeat. Had he been more prepared for this level of resistance he would have walked away with a few scratches, but instead this encounter cost him one of his ACs. There was no one else to blame but himself in this case, or so he thought. One more detail came over him as his head started to beat; had he been getting soft in his short lived mercenary career?

He tried his best to stay conscious but his body just couldn't handle it. He felt drained of his strength somehow, like something had mentally and physically sapped him dry. His vision slowly faded, turning into a dark emptiness he feared of for so long. Before long his consciousness slipped away and everything was black.

* * *

From the darkness a large wooden door swung opened. Sakura let herself into the boy's empty house as she usually did on her days she decided to tidy it up. No matter how long the boys were gone she felt as though she didn't want them to return to a dusty house. She longed for the days of their youth to return when it was just the three of them spending countless hours wasting the day in the very house she now stood in alone. It was Chris and Mizuki's house, but more so Chris' due to the fact that it was his money he used from his inheritance.

She went from room to room cleaning everything in sight. As it was the spring season she wore light clothing for the day's events she had to attend to. A short sleeved shirt and a skirt were all she needed, figuring she'd take one of the boy's sweatshirts or jackets for the walk home in the evening.

When she finished the first floor she felt a strange sensation fall over her as she ascended the stairs to the second floor. She stopped for a moment midway up the steps but continued as she disregarded her strange sixth sense feeling. From there she cleaned out her room she used closest to the stair well at the same time remembering all the times the boys would play pranks on her some nights. She was easily frightened and hated it when Chris and Mizuki would leave fake spiders, scratch on the door, or pop out from her closet or behind the door. Those only being a few examples of the things they did to her.

The door shut behind her when she entered her room. Frightened at first she thought it to be Chris or Mizuki, but remembered they were to be gone for the year out at sea. It was dark inside the room and the lack of sunlight didn't help her situation. She slowly turned around expecting to see a smiling and laughing Chris or Mizuki, but instead met a pair a glowing yellow eyes.

"Nice to see you again, Sakura," said a menacing voice behind the glowing eyes.

"Who..." before Sakura could continue her feet buckled below her and she fell to the floor unconscious.

The figure in the dark took out a cell phone, it's illumination revealed the face of a young male with green hair and fair complexion. His eyes ceased to glow as he began speaking to whoever was on the other end.

"I have the girl," he said. After a brief silence he continued, "yes, understood," and shut the phone. He looked down at Sakura's fragile body in disgust.

"Inferior," he whispered before kneeling down in front of her.


	9. Chapter 8: Shades of War

**Chapter 8: Shades of War  
**

**Orb Base**

"Just look at it all," Mizuki said, observing the wreckage of Orb's base.

The three Daggers stood side by side on the pier of the military base. White Glint was at the end of the line. Their cockpit hatches were open with their pilots on the ground attending to different matters. In the ocean the shattered remains of the one responsible for the destruction of the Orb Base were left to rest. Its captured pilot was held off to the side away from the other soldiers under constant surveillance by four armed guards.

"Do you remember what happened this time?" Mizuki asked as he heard footsteps creep up behind him. He toyed around with a chrome silver lighter he stared at while a lit cigarette burned away between his lips.

"Can't stop the habit I see," Chris replied.

"Just answer the question."

"Yeah, I remember what happened this time."

Silence fell between them. Mizuki had a distant look in his eyes which Chris easily took notice of. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's nothing." Mizuki took his cigarette, rubbed the burnt end on the piece of concrete block he sat on, then flicked it towards the wreckage.

"Let us take the prisoner," Captain Merquise said sternly.

"Can't let you do that old friend. He attacked Orb territory and my orders to bring him in for interrogation," the Orb officer said.

"You don't even belong to the Orb military. You're a mercenary just like him."

"And what does that mean?" the Orb officer snarled.

"Nothing. I'm sorry Joshua I didn't mean to offend you, but there may be more at work here than what you see. He attacked us earlier while we were at sea. That's why we're here now."

"I can sympathize, but I can't hand him over to you. Even though I don't fall under this chain of command I still have to follow a client's orders if I care about keeping my job." The Orb Officer paused and thought for a moment, "what do you mean there may be more at work than what I see?"

Captain Merquise and the Orb officer continued to debate amongst each other. Meanwhile Shinn joined Chris and Mizuki resting near a pile of debris quite a distance away from the officers. "What's going on? Why is Captain Merquise taking so long?"

"They're busy debating who will keep the prisoner," Mizuki answered.

"Shinn!" Lunamaria cried from behind.

As if to answer her call the prisoner looked up from where he sat. His hands and feet were cuffed together by steel chains. Although they were heavy the weight contested to nothing he hadn't been through before. At the mention of Shinn's name he looked at the two squabbling officers then at the group of pilots. He studied the group of pilots he taking notice almost instantly at a resemblance of someone he thought to be familiar and moved to stand.

"Hey!" one of the guards shouted as they put a hand on the prisoner's shoulder forcing him down to his knees. The prisoner fell with the motion, cringing at the sudden burning sensation as his knee struck the concrete. Shinn looked over at the guards then made a random comment to escape the group. He made his way to the prisoner with Lunamaria following suit.

"Shinn," the prisoner said weakly as Shinn approached.

"Do I know you?"

"Shinn...Asuka?"

"How do you know my name?" Shinn stood just outside of the perimeter the guards created.

"You look like her."

"I look like her?" Shinn said, referring to Lunamaria. Confusion engulfed him as he wondered what the prisoner meant.

"What's going on here?" a voice boomed from behind. Shinn felt the Orb officer's presence as if he were nearly breathing down his back and spun around. When he noticed Captain Merquise was right behind him he quickly stepped aside.

"The prisoner may know me sir," Shinn quickly said. The two officers looked to each other confused.

"I guess I could see if they would allow you to have a little time with him," the Orb officer said to Captain Merquise who gave a quick nod in response. The Orb officer walked away with a radio in hand calling for his superiors.

"Watch out Kira!" Mu shouted through a transmission. The Mobeius Zero's wire guided barrels fired several covering lasers splitting the Duel and Strike from their locked beam sabers.

Riku watched the entire battle progress. Four Gundams against one with the support a small Mobile Armor. Not very good odds. If it weren't for Mu's combat experience and support the inexperienced Kira could have been done in quite a few times already. He studied the situation noticing the fight seemed to be more of a one sided conflict, so in deciding to end things quickly he sent out a distress signal.

Within a matter of seconds a large pink particle beam split the Alliance and ZAFT forces in two. Both sides, bewildered at the situation, were caught off guard when additional smaller beams were fired upon the ZAFT Gundams. Soon enough the short intervention forced the ZAFT frigate to halt its pursuit as it signaled its Mobile Suits to retreat by firing different colored flares. The _Archangel_ took this opportunity and sped up, recovering the Strike and Mobeius Zero in the process while leaving the ZAFT frigate behind.

"Watch that ZAFT frigate," Riku said before opening his eyes to the Strike entering the hanger.

"What happened out there?" It was Kira's voice. Riku tried searching for him in the bustling hanger only to find him by Mu's side as they were leaving. He figured it was best to maintain his distance, operating as he just did, though he knew the mysterious aid couldn't remain a secret forever. After they vanished behind the sliding doors he walked up to the Strike, inspecting it a couple times over before letting himself up the retractable rope connected to the end of the cockpit hatch. A few engineers who noticed him but returned to their work as everyone else went to work on the machines.

As Riku sat in the cockpit his head started to pound. It was a sign that a connection was being made to him, a feeling he thought he could never get used to. He sat back and closed his eyes, relaxed his body, then rested his head on the hard head rest. The seat was far from comfortable, but then again it was meant for combat not comfort. Almost immediately a familiar voice emerged seemingly from no where and gave him the information he was waiting for. The only words which caught his attention were "awakened" and "captured."

Minutes later a violent rocking within the _Archangel_ awoke Riku from his concentration. "The _Archangel_ is entering combat. All personnel to their battle stations." The last part of the announcement repeated itself a couple times over just like the very first time he heard it then they left Heliopolis. By the time the hanger was packed with all the previous personnel Riku was already out of the cockpit. As he made his way to his corner he overheard a conversation between a couple crewmen.

"Do you know what's going on?"

"Don't say anything because you might stir up the others, but I heard one of the officers from the bridge saying there was an armada of ZAFT ships headed this way."

"So we're taking on ZAFT's entire fleet?"

"No, I think they're up to something else."

"Like what?"

"How long did you stay at Heliopolis?"

"A couple years, but what does that have to do with what's happening now?"

"You don't remember the Atmospheric Re-entry Pods some weapon company was trying to make?"

"No, not exactly."

"Well these pods were to be for civilian use only. You know, to get equipment back to Earth, but these ZAFT ships are said to be loaded with them. These pods are supposed to be able to withstand the high temperatures of the atmosphere and here is the ZAFT military with hundreds of them. Do you know what this means?"

Riku looked over towards the hanger doors ignoring the rest of the conversation to catch Mu entering with Kira trailing behind. Everything that happened so far was moving quicker then planned, but somehow he felt as if it were bound to happen. It was all going according to plan, a larger plan than he had hoped for. This very move by ZAFT was forecasted long ago in the "plan," but how? For the time being it would remain a mystery.

* * *

**ZAFT Ship**

"What's going on Rau?" a dark blue haired pilot in a red flight suit demanded as he entered the bridge area.

"I thought it was only us that were supposed to capture them!" shouted a white haired pilot from behind the first. Two other pilots trailed in behind them onto the bridge.

"Calm down Arthrun, Yzak. It's only a change of plans. We still have our objective," replied their blonde haired masked commander facing the bridge monitors. His mask was unique to his face, as it seemed custom made for him. The mask covered his eyes and a vast majority of the area around it leaving the rest of his skin exposed. How he had any vision through the mask was questionable to anyone that came across him trying to analyze his strange sense of fashion.

"I need to repay that bastard back for what he did to me!" the white haired pilot, Yzak, continued to shout in his angered voice. A fresh scar was present on his face between the bridge of his nose and his right eye.

"What's going on with this new plan?" the blue haired pilot, Arthrun, asked.

"Orders have come regarding Operation Meteor," said their masked commander.

"Operation Meteor," Arthrun repeated trailing off towards the end, then his eyes widened, "already? But it's too soon. The _Archangel_ will reach the Earth's atmosphere in an hour!"

"Then that means we'll have to chase it won't we?" Yzak said with a sinister smile on his face.

"That's just going to make things harder," Arthrun added.

"Then we're just going to have to try harder don't you think Arthrun?" their commander said sternly looking in his direction.

* * *

"Lockon it looks like they're up to something," a pilot in a orange suit said. A young adult's face appeared on a screen on Lockon's monitor. The right side of the orange suited pilot's face was covered by his dark green hair revealing only the left side of his face and a silver eye.

"Allelujah, everyone, get ready. Wait second, what's that?" From the distance they were at he could see the entire ZAFT fleet behind the _Archangel_. "We're supposed to take on this many?"

"This doesn't seem to be part of the plan," said a pilot in a blue suit. A portrait of an even younger face appeared on the opposite side of the screen displaying Allelujah.

"Setsuna, Lockon, Allelujah, new orders from Sumeragi," said a third voice. A pilot in a purple suit with glasses appeared on the lower corner of Lockon's screen.

"Get ready everyone. If the plan's been changed then it looks like we'll be having a bigger debut then we planned." Lockon said with a smile on his face.

* * *

**Zaft Ship, Bridge**

"Sir, the _Archangel_ is preparing for atmospheric entry. We'll lose them at this rate."

The masked commander kept a straight face as he monitored the live video display for a minute. "Tell the pilots to prepare their suits in the atmospheric re-entry pods."

The _Archangel_ entered the Earth's atmosphere at an angle it started to glow a bright orange red. Inside, the temperature burst to a high but tolerable degree. From the view of the ZAFT ship it would seem as if the _Archangel_ would spontaneously combust at any moment as it burned through the outer layer of the atmosphere.

Two atmospheric re-entry pods ejected from the ZAFT ship. They flew by the _Archangel_ at a higher speed taking on the same bright orange red color then vanished into a sea of blue on Earth. Following the first pods and the _Archangel_ five smaller pods were thrust into Earth on separate sides of the globe.


End file.
